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Now that Mitt Romney has released his taxes with proof that he’s paid taxes over the past ten years, it’s time for United States Senator Harry Reid of Nevada to “man up!”

Harry Reid stood before his fellow senators on the nation’s United States’ senate floor and insisted that he had a reliable, confidential source which claimed GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney didn’t pay taxes for ten years. Reid said that someone had contacted his office with the information, and Reid felt it necessary to face the American people via the press on the congressional floor and spread his rumor. When challenged, he reasserted his claim even more boldly. Harry Reid made a national spectacle of Mitt Romney – and himself – by repeating gossip that said Romney had not paid any taxes for the past ten years. Harry Reid has now been proven wrong – dead wrong.

The logical question at this point is: Where’s the apology, Harry Reid?

During the midterm election when Sharon Angle was challenging Harry Reid in the senate race in Nevada in 2010, she told Reid to “man up!” It’s apparent that Harry Reid still refuses to “man up” when he needs to do so for decency’s and dignity’s sake.

Without a second thought, Harry Reid should have hit the press late Friday afternoon, the best time of the week for a politician to do something negative, politically, because it’s when most people have their minds on the weekend and news doesn’t stick like it does earlier in the doldrums of the work week. Reid could have gotten a totally justified apology out of the way – and in the future, people would have said, “He apologized but it didn’t get much press.” That would have been the smart and respectable way for Reid to have handled this latest embarrassment of his. But no, Reid lets Mitt Romney’s day of proof that Reid’s no-taxes-in-ten-years fiasco was nothing but “dirty politics” come and go without as much as a murmur of apology or regret for the misspeak – or lie – that he asserted for months.

Those who may have had an ounce of respect remaining for Senator Harry Reid saw it evaporate on Friday.

Romney lays all the tax information out on the table, makes Reid look like a gossiping fool, and Reid is mum. Reid should have been mum when he allegedly got the misinformation about Romney’s taxes – if, in fact, he ever got such information at all. If he really was really notified about Romney not paying taxes – knowing Washington, D.C. as we do – you would think the reference of the news would have been leaked from someone, somewhere by now. It makes one wonder if Reid ever even got such information at all and just made it up to help President Obama via “dirty politics”.

That was my thought back when the Harry Reid’s allegations about Romney not paying taxes broke. I thought – and wrote – that the story was likely made up via “dirty politics” within the Democratic Party, and Reid was chosen to deliver the “dirty politicking” because a man with his years wouldn’t have that much time left in Congress anyway. One would assume he’s going to retire someday.

Harry Reid has epitomized “dirty politics” in the 21st Century – pronounced most strongly by Reid during the presidential election of 2012 – and, unfortunately for him, he is making “Harry Reid’s dirty politicking” his legacy. Throughout American history, Harry Reid will be remembered as the American politician who (fill in the blank with one of Harry’s stunts here) – the man that the Democrats of this era idolized to iconic proportions. How sad.

Incidentally, an informal online poll over the weekend shows that 79% of Americans believe Harry Reid should apologize to Mitt Romney, 10% believe that lying is expected of Harry Reid, and 9% have no opinion. 10% expect Harry Reid to lie – this percentage will likely increase greatly after this story settles in America’s minds.

It may be too late for Harry Reid to “save face”, but it’s not too late for him to “man up” and apologize to Mitt Romney – as well as the American public for his misinformation or lies – like any decent human being would.

About Scott Paulson

Scott Paulson writes political commentary for Examiner.com and teaches English at a community college in the Chicago area. The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of CBS Local.